Drop tubes and overfill valves therefor

ABSTRACT

A drop tube employed in the discharge of fuel into a storage tank of the type having an inlet, riser pipe is described. The drop tube a tubular member and an overfill valve. The overfill valve comprises a valve member having open and closed positions which is controlled by a float mounted thereon. The drop tube is insertable through the riser pipe to a position wherein the float displaces the valve member towards its closed position when the fuel in the tank reaches a desired level. A depression in the tubular member receives the float to facilitate insertion of the drop tube through the riser pipe. The valve member is freely pivotal from its open position to its closed position, being displaced thereto by the force of fuel discharged into the tank. A pressure relief valve provided to reduce the forces on the valve. A bleed valve is also provided for bleeding fuel from above the valve when it is in its closed position. Further mechanism, actuated by the float, close the bleed valve  when the level of fuel is at a predetermined height above its desired level.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuing application of Ser. No. 335,035, filedApr. 7, 1989 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,986,320, which was a continuingapplication of Ser. No. 108,152 filed Oct. 13, 1987, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a new overfill valve which is adapted to beincorporated in a drop tube used with a storage tank means having achamber therein for storing liquid fuel.

2. Prior Art Statement

It is known to provide an overfill valve construction for use in astorage tank means having a chamber therein for storing liquid fuel andthe like and having an inlet riser pipe means extending therefrom, theconstruction comprising a drop tube means for being inserted through theriser pipe means and have a portion thereof disposed within the storagetank, a valve means in the drop tube means and having a valve seat and amovable valve member for opening and closing the valve seat so as totend to close the drop tube means between the opposed ends thereof, andfloat means operatively interconnected to the valve member to causeclosing of the valve member when the float means is raised to a certainposition relative to the portion by rising liquid in the storage tankmeans. For example, see the U.S. Pat. to Draft, No. 4,667,711.

It is also known to provide such an overfill valve construction whereinthe valve member has an opening means therethrough for interconnectingthe area of the drop tube means on one side of the valve means to thearea of the drop tube means on the other side of the valve means evenwhen the valve member is closed against the valve seat. For example, seethe aforementioned U.S. Pat. to Draft, No. 4,667,711.

It is also known to provide such an overfill valve construction whereinthe valve member is pivotally mounted to the drop tube means by a firstpivot shaft means and the float means is operatively mounted to the droptube means by a second pivot shaft means. For example, see theaforementioned U.S. Pat. to Draft, No. 4,667,711.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is one feature of this invention to provide a new overfill valvewhich is adapted to be incorporated in a drop tube used with a storagetank having a chamber therein for storing liquid fuel and the like andhaving an inlet riser pipe means extending therefrom, the new overfillvalve construction having unique means for containing the float meanstherein as the drop tube means has a portion thereof inserted throughthe riser pipe means to be received in the chamber of the storage tankmeans.

In particular, the prior known drop tube means has an enlarged openingin the sidewall means thereof and into which the float means is disposedso that the drop tube means can be inserted through the riser pipemeans, such opening means being adapted to be thereafter closed bysliding an internal annular shield means of the drop tube means inplace.

However, it was found according to the teachings of this invention, thatthe sidewall means of the drop tube means could be provided with adepressed area or depression therein and in which the float means couldbe disposed so as to be maintained substantially within the outline ofthe drop tube means when the drop tube means is inserted through theriser pipe means so that such prior known large opening means in thesidewall means is not now necessary.

For example, one embodiment of this invention provides an overfill valvefor use in a storage tank means having a chamber therein for storingliquid fuel and the like and having an inlet riser pipe means extendingtherefrom, the overfill valve is part of a drop tube means for beinginserted through the riser pipe means and have a portion thereofdisposed within the storage tank means, a valve means in the drop tubemeans and having a valve seat and a movable valve member for opening andclosing the valve seat so as to tend to close the drop tube meansbetween the opposed ends thereof, and float means operativelyinterconnected to the valve member to cause closing of the valve memberwhen the float means is raised to a certain position relative to theportion by rising liquid in the chamber of the storage tank means, theportion having an external wall that defines a generally cylindricaltubular section that has a generally circular transverse cross-sectionalconfiguration throughout the length thereof except for a depressed areatherein and in which the float means can be disposed so as to bemaintained substantially within the outline of the configuration whenthe drop tube means has the portion inserted through the riser pipemeans to be received in the chamber of the storage tank means.

It is another feature of this invention to provide a new overfill valvewhich is adapted to be incorporated in a drop tube used with a storagetank means and wherein the initial shock loading of the upstream flow ofliquid on the main poppet valve member thereof is relieved in a uniquemanner when the main valve member initially closes.

In particular, the prior known overfill valve construction, while havingan opening means through the main valve member for interconnecting thearea of the drop tube means on one side of the valve means to the areaon the other side of the valve means so as to permit a reduced flow offuel to be dispensed through the drop tube means when the main valvemember is closed, permits an initial shock loading of the fuel againstthe main valve member when the same initially closes because the openingmeans cannot be made sufficiently large to effectively reduce theinitial shock loading and still perform its function of providing areduced continuous flow through the drop tube means after the main valvemember is closed.

However, it was found according to the teachings of this invention thatthe main valve member can be provided with an opening means therethroughof a size which will initially permit sufficient fuel to flowtherethrough upon the initial closing of the main valve member so thatthe shock of the fuel flow bearing against the initially closed poppetvalve member will not be so great and then means can be provided forclosing such opening means so that other means can be provided forpermitting a reduced flow rate of fuel to pass through the closed droptube means.

For example, one embodiment of this invention provides an overfill valvewhich is adapted to be incorporated in a drop tube used with a storagetank means having a chamber therein for storing liquid fuel and the likeand having an inlet riser pipe means extending therefrom, the overfillvalve is part of a drop tube means for being inserted through the riserpipe means and have a portion thereof disposed within the storage tankmeans, a poppet valve means in the drop tube means and having a valveseat and a movable valve member for opening and closing the valve seatso as to tend to close the drop tube means between the opposed endsthereof, and float means operatively interconnected to the valve memberto cause closing of the valve member when the float means is raised to acertain position relative to the portion by rising fluid in the chamberof the storage tank means, the valve member having an opening meanstherethrough for interconnecting the area of the drop tube means on oneside of the valve means to the area of said drop tube means on the otherside of the valve means even when the valve member is closed against thevalve seat, the valve member carrying a second valve member for openingand closing the opening means.

It is another feature of this invention to provide a new overfill valvewhich is adapted to be incorporated in a drop tube used with a storagetank means and wherein unique means are provided for bypassing a reducedflow of fuel around the closed main valve means thereof.

In particular, as previously set forth, the prior known overfill valveconstruction has an opening means through the main valve member whichpermits a reduced flow of fuel to flow therethrough when the main valvemember is disposed in the closed condition thereof and it was found thatsuch an arrangement resulted in a relatively large shock loading to beimposed upon the valve member when the same is first disposed in itsclosed position.

However, it was found according to the teachings of this invention thatan opening means can be provided through the main valve member of asufficient size so as to initially reduce the shock loading thereon whenthe main valve member is initially closed and that such opening meanscan be subsequently closed by a valve member carried by the main valvemember. In addition, the overfill valve can be provided with a poppetvalve means for providing a reduced flow of fuel therethrough thatbypasses the main valve means and that the float means can beoperatively interconnected to the valve member of the poppet valve meansto cause closing of the valve member thereof when the float means israised to a certain position by rising liquid in the chamber of thestorage tank means.

For example, one embodiment of this invention provides an overfill valvewhich is adapted to be incorporated in a drop tube used with a storagetank means having a chamber therein for storing liquid fuel and the likeand having an inlet riser pipe means extending therefrom, theconstruction comprising a drop tube means for being inserted through theriser pipe means and have a portion thereof disposed within the storagetank means, a valve means in the drop tube means and having a valve seatand a movable valve member for opening and closing the valve seat so asto tend to close the drop tube means between the opposed ends thereof,and float means operatively interconnected to the valve member to causeclosing of the valve member when the float means is raised to a certainposition relative to the portion by rising liquid in the chamber of thestorage tank means, the drop tube means a bleed passage and poppet valvemeans disposed therein and comprising a second valve seat that bypassesthe first named valve seat and a second movable valve member for openingand closing the second valve seat, the float means being operativelyinterconnected to the second valve member to cause closing of the secondvalve member when the float means is raised to another certain positionrelative to the portion by rising liquid in the chamber of the storagetank means.

It is another feature of this invention to provide a new overfill valvewhich is adapted to be incorporated in a drop tube used with a storagetank means and wherein unique means are provided for interconnecting thefloat means to the valve member thereof for controlling the operation ofthe valve member.

In particular, the prior known overfill valve construction has theinterconnection means between the float means and the main valve memberso arranged that the float means is subjected to the shock forces thatare imposed upon the main valve member as the main valve member isforced closed by the fuel being directed thereagainst.

However, it was found according to the teachings of this invention thatunique link means can be provided to operatively interconnect the floatmeans to the valve member so that the poppet valve member will nottransmit shock loading forces that are imposed thereon to the floatmeans.

For example, one embodiment of this invention provides an overfill valvewhich is adapted to be incorporated in a drop tube used with a storagetank means having a chamber therein for storing liquid fuel and the likeand having an inlet riser pipe means extending therefrom, theconstruction comprising a drop tube means for being inserted through theriser pipe means and having a portion thereof disposed within thestorage tank means, a valve means in the drop tube means and having avalve seat and a movable valve member for opening and closing the valveseat so as to tend to close the drop tube means between the opposed endsthereof, float means operatively interconnected to the valve member tocause closing of the valve member when the float means is raised to acertain position relative to the portion by rising liquid in the chamberof the storage tank means, the valve member being pivotally mounted tothe drop tube means by a first pivot shaft means, said float means beingpivotally mounted to the drop tube means by a second pivot shaft means,and a link means being pivotally mounted to the first and second pivotshaft means and controlling the closing movement of the valve memberfrom a certain open position thereof.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a new overfillvalve which is adapted to be incorporated in a drop tube used with astorage tank means having a chamber therein for storing liquid fuel andthe like, the overfill valve construction of this invention having oneor more of the novel features of this invention as set forth above orhereinafter shown or described.

Other objects, uses and advantages of this invention are apparent from areading of this description which proceeds with reference to theaccompanying drawings forming a part thereof and wherein:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary, cross-sectional view illustrating the newoverfill valve construction of this invention having been assembled withan under the ground storage tank means that has a chamber therein forstoring liquid fuel and the like.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view illustrating themethod of this invention for inserting the overfill valve constructionof this invention through the inlet riser pipe means of the storage tankmeans of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary, cross-sectional view illustratingthe closure means for closing the inlet end of the riser pipe means ofthe storage tank means of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary, cross-sectional view of part of thearrangement illustrated in FIG. 1 and illustrates the various operatingpositions of the float means of the overfill valve construction of thisinvention.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary, cross-sectional view of a portion ofthe structure illustrated in FIG. 4 and illustrates the main valvemember in the full open position thereof.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged, fragmentary, cross-sectional view of a portion ofthe arrangement of FIG. 4 and illustrates the main valve member in itsinitially closed position.

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 and illustrates the float means ofthe overfill valve construction of this invention in a position thereofthat causes the closing of another valve means of the overfill valveconstruction, such other valve means being shown in FIGS. 8-11.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged, fragmentary, cross-sectional view takensubstantially on line 8--8 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged, fragmentary, cross-sectional view takensubstantially on line 9--9 of FIG. 8 and illustrates a bypass poppetvalve means of the overfill valve construction of this invention in itsopen condition.

FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 9 and illustrates how the poppet valvemeans performs its bypass function.

FIG. 11 is a view similar to FIG. 9 and illustrates the poppet valvemember of the bypass poppet valve means in its closed condition.

FIG. 12 is an enlarged, fragmentary, cross-sectional view takensubstantially on line 12--12 of FIG. 8 and illustrates the drive meansof the float means in the position thereof that has caused the mainvalve member of FIG. 6 to be in the closed condition thereof.

FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view of the various parts of theoverfill valve construction of this invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

While the various features of this invention are hereinafter illustratedand described as being particularly adapted to provide an overfill valvewhich is adapted to be incorporated in a drop tube used with a storagetank means having a compartment therein for storing liquid fuel and thelike and having an inlet riser pipe means extending therefrom, it is tobe understood that the various features of this invention can beutilized singularly or in various combinations thereof to provide avalve construction for other apparatus as desired.

Therefore, this invention is not to be limited to only the embodimentillustrated in the drawings, because the drawings are merely utilized toillustrate one of the wide variety of uses of this invention.

Referring now to FIG. 1, the drop tube of this invention is generallyindicated by the reference numeral 20 and comprises a compositely formedtubular member 21 and an overfill valve that has been assembled in itsoperative position in an under the ground storage tank means 22 that hadbeen buried in the ground 23 and has an inlet riser pipe means 24extending to a manhole chamber means 24' that had also been buried inthe conventional cement surface layer means 25 disposed on the top 26 ofthe ground 23 and providing access to a cover plate means 27 at theinlet end means 28 of the riser pipe means 24 through a removablemanhole cover 29 in a manner well known in the art.

The storage tank means 22 has a chamber 30 therein for storing liquidfuel and the like and has an upper opening 31 interconnected to a lowerend means 32 of the riser pipe means 24 which is substantiallycylindrical and has a substantially uniform circular cross-sectionalconfiguration throughout the length thereof, the riser pipe means 24being secured to the storage tank 22 in alignment with the opening 31thereof in any suitable manner and having an inlet end 33 thereofadapted to be opened and closed by the removable cover means 27 in themanner illustrated in FIG. 3. Since such structure is well known in theart, a further description thereof is deemed unnecessary except to statethat when it is desired to dispense fuel into the chamber 30 of thestorage tank means 22, the manhole cover 29 is removed and the riserpipe closure cap means 27 is also removed so that fuel can be disposedin an upper end 34 of the drop tube 20 that is secured in the upper end33 of the riser pipe means 24 in a manner hereinafter set forth and bedirected into the chamber 30 out through a lower open end 35 of the droptube 20.

Such a general arrangement for a drop tube in connection with a storagetank means and its riser pipe means is well known in the art, such as isset forth in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. to Draft, No. 4,667,711whereby this patent is being incorporated into this disclosure by thisreference thereto. Therefore, since the use of a drop tube is well knownin the art, only the details of the new overfill valve 21 of thisinvention will now be described.

The tubular member 21 comprises three portions or sections 36, 37 and38, the portion 36 being a housing formed of any suitable material andin any suitable manner, such as by being formed from a casting ofaluminum or the like. The housing 36 is substantially tubular orcylindrical and has a substantially uniform circular cross-sectionalconfiguration from one end 39 thereof to another end 40 thereof exceptfor a depression, or depressed area, 41 that is formed in a sidewallmeans 42 of the housing 36 so as to contain therein a float means 43 ofthe overfill valve construction 20 in a manner hereinafter set forthwhen the drop tube means 21 is being inserted through the inlet riserpipe means 24 in the manner illustrated in FIG. 2, the depressed area 41is defined by a substantially flat length 44 of the sidewall means 42formed as a chord of the circular cross section and a pair of opposedfacing substantially flat shoulder means 45 and 46 adjacent whichopposed ends 47 and 48 of the float means 43 are respectively adapted tobe disposed when the float means 43 is moved into the depressed area 41in the manner illustrated in FIG. 2.

The upper section 37 of the tubular member 21 functions as an upperextension of the housing 36 and comprises a substantially tubular orcylindrical metallic member having an upper end 49 provided with anoutwardly turned annular flange 50 which is adapted to be trappedbetween an upper end surface 51 of the riser pipe means 24 and ashoulder 52 of an upper coupling member 53 threadedly secured to theriser pipe means 24 and defining the end means 28 thereof that isadapted to be opened and closed by the cover means 27. The upper annularflange 50 of the section 37 is adapted to be sealed in the riser pipemeans 24 by opposed sealing means 54 and 55 respectively disposed onopposite sides of the flange 50 and adjacent the shoulders 51 and 52 asillustrated in FIG. 3.

A lower end 56 of the tubular extension 37 is adapted to be telescopedover the upper end 39 of the intermediate housing portion 36 and besecured thereto by a plurality of threaded fastening means 57. Forexample, the fastening means 57 can each comprise a standard countersunkscrew respectively having a threaded shank portion 58 received in athreaded bore 59 in the housing 36 and have an enlarged head 60 thereofcompress an annular portion 61 of the material of the extension 37 intoa respective oversized countersunk area 62 of the sidewall means 42 ofthe housing 36 so as to provide a relatively large area 63 of thehousing 36 against which relatively large areas 61 of the housing 36 areheld by the heads 60 of the fastening members 57 so as to preventbreaking away of the upper extension 37 from the housing 36 at the timethat tremendous pressure or load is being utilized to close a main valvemeans 64 of the overfill valve 21 in a manner hereinafter set forth.

The main valve means 64 comprises a main valve member 65 that ispivotally mounted to a shaft means 66 that passes through suitableopening means 67, FIG. 13, of the valve member 65, the shaft means 66being effectively interconnected to another shaft means 68 generallycarried by the housing 36 and being disposed in suitable opening means69 thereof in a manner hereinafter set forth by unique link means 70 ina manner hereinafter set forth. The main valve means 64 includes a mainvalve seat means 71 that is substantially annular and is spaced abovethe shoulder means 45 while being disposed at an angle relative to thelongitudinal axis of the drop tube means 21, such as 45° as illustrated,the valve seat 71 comprising an annular flat surface 72 against which anannular sealing means 73 molded on the valve member 65 is adapted toseal against in the closed manner illustrated in FIG. 6.

The main valve seat 71 is angled from an upper flat section or surface74 of the shoulder means 45 of the housing 36 and on which a bracketmeans 75 is fastened by suitable fastening means 76. The bracket means75 carries another shaft means 77 which passes through a suitableopening means 78 in a yoke member 79 that has a pair of legs 80 thereofreceiving the shaft 66 through suitable openings 81 thereof and havingthe opposed ends of the shaft 66 fastened thereto by conventionalC-shaped retaining means 82 so as to pivotally interconnect the valvemember 65 also to the shaft 77 which has its opposed ends passing outthrough suitable openings 83 formed in spaced apart ears 84 of thebracket means 75 and being secured thereto by conventional C-shapedretaining members 85 as illustrated.

The float means 43 comprises an elongated molded body 86 of any suitablefloat material. The float 86 has a cross section which is a segment ofthe circular outline of the tubular member 21 having a flat rear side 87and an arcuate front side 88 formed on a radius approximating the radiusof said circular outline with opposed ends 89 and 90, a metallic part 91being molded with the body part 86 and extending outwardly therefrom todefine the end 47 thereof with an angled outer wall 92 tapering towardthe casting or portion 36 and having a pair of spaced apart ears 93receiving the opposed ends of the shaft 68 through suitable openings 94thereof so that the shaft means 68 can be fastened thereto byconventional C-shaped fastening members 95. The openings 94 in the ears93 of the float 43 are rectangular in configuration and respectivelyreceive rectangular extensions 96 and 97 of a driver member 98 and a cammember 99 therethrough, the driver member 98 being rotatably mounted onthe shaft 68 which passes through a suitable central opening 100 thereinand the cam member 99 also being rotatably mounted on the shaft 68 whichpasses through a suitable opening 101 passing centrally through the cammember 99.

In this manner, the float member or means 43 is pivotally mounted to thesection 36 by the shaft means 68 and is formed of any suitable materialwhich will float and rise with the liquid level in the chamber 30 of thestorage tank means 22 as that liquid level engages against the floatmeans 43 such as is provided by the liquid level line 102 in FIG. 7.

As previously stated, the shaft means 68 also pivotally mounts the linkmeans 70 to the section 36 of the drop tube means 21, the link means 70comprising a first link 103 having one end 104 provided with an opening105 passing therethrough and receiving the shaft 68 therethrough. Theend 104 of the link 103 is disposed intermediate the driver member 98and the cam 99 as illustrated in FIG. 8 and rotates independentlythereof. The other end 104' of the link 103 is pivotally interconnectedto an end 106 of another link 107 of the link means 70 by a pivot pinmeans 108 as illustrated, the other end 109 of the link 107 beingpivotally mounted to the shaft 66 by having the shaft 66 pass through asuitable opening 110 in the end 109 of the link 107.

The link 107 actually comprises two separate members 111 and 112fastened together by two fastening means 113 and 114 and is usuallyformed by the fastening member 113 first being utilized and thenadjusting the position of the member 112 relative to the member 111before utilizing the fastening member 114 so that the link 107 is, ineffect, a single link that combines with the link 103 to form the linkmeans 70.

The end 106 of the link 107 has a substantially flat end surface 115which is utilized for abutting against an end 116 of an adjustable stopmember 117 threadedly carried in a threaded bore 118 of the portion orsection 36 so as to limit the movement of the link means 70 when thevalve member 65 is disposed in a full open position as illustrated inFIG. 5. At this position, the pivot pin means 108 can be seen as beingdisposed over center in a clockwise direction relative to the shaft 68so that any force acting downwardly on the valve member 65 would tend todrive the valve member 65 in a clockwise direction about the shaft 68 inFIG. 5 which movement is prevented by the end surface 115 of the link107 abutting the adjustable stop member 117. Thus, the link means 70,when disposed in the position of FIG. 5, effectively locks the valvemember 65 in the full open position thereof.

With the valve member 65 disposed in the full open position illustratedin FIG. 5, it can be seen that a deflector member 119 that is fastenedto the upper section 37 by suitable fastening means 120 has the uppersurface 121 thereof downwardly angled relative to the interior of thesection 37 so as to deflect the fuel being dispenses downwardly throughthe drop tube means 21 away from the valve member 65 as represented bythe arrows 122 in FIG. 5 so that the fuel 122 can pass through theopened valve seat 71 to the lower end 35 of the tubular member 21 tofill the chamber 30. The deflector member 119 also protects the valvemember 65 from damage by a gauging stick which is used to check fluidlevel in the tank.

However, as the liquid level rises in the chamber 30 of the storage tankmeans 22, the same acts on the float means 43 to raise the same to theposition illustrated by dash-dotted lines 123 in FIG. 4 and full linesin FIG. 5 to cause an outwardly directed rod-like drive pin means 124 ofthe driver member 98, which rotates in unison with the float means 43 onthe shaft means 68, into engagement with a surface 125 on an extension126 of the end 104 of the link 103, providing abutment means to causethe link 103 to rotate in a counterclockwise direction in FIG. 5. As thefloat means 43 continues to rotate in a counterclockwise direction onthe shaft means 68 by the liquid level rising further upwardly, suchfurther counterclockwise movement of the link 103 caused by the drivermember 98 being rotated on the shaft 68 by the rising float means 43causes the link 107 to move outwardly to the left and carry the valvemember 65 therewith which pivots on the shafts 66 and 77 so as to have aforward part 127 thereof move out into the stream 122 of fuel flowingdownwardly through the drop tube means 21 as represented by the arrows122 in FIGS. 5 and 6 and, thus, be carried by the downwardly flowingfuel further downwardly to seal closed against the valve seat 71. Suchfurther closing movement of the valve member 65 under the flow of fuelagainst an upper surface 128 thereof causes the link 103 to rotate onthe shaft 68 faster than the float means 43 rotates the driver member 98thereon so that the surface 125 of the link 103 moves away from thedrive rod or portion 124 of the drive member 98 to effectivelydisconnect the float means 43 from the valve means 64. Thus, any forcevibrations caused by the valve member 65 being closed against the valveseat 71 by a large head of liquid above the valve member 65 will not betransmitted back through the linkage means 70 to the float 43 to causevibration thereof and subsequent deterioration thereof as in the priorknown arrangements.

The main valve member 65 has in its upper surface 128, a relativelylarge opening 129 passing therethrough and defining on the underside 130thereof an annular valve seat 131 which surrounds the opening 129 and isadapted to be opened and closed by a valve member 132 which is carriedon an end 133 of a lever 134 which has its other end 135 pivotallymounted to the shaft means 66. The lever 134 is urged in a clockwisedirection in FIG. 6 about the shaft means 66 by a spring means 136 thathas a coiled body portion 137 disposed on the shaft means 66 and oneopposed end 138 that bears against the underside 130 of the valve member65 and the other opposed end 139 which bears against the valve member132, the spring 136 being coiled and retained in such a manner that thesame always has a tendency to move and hold the valve member 132 in itsclosed condition against the valve seat 131 in the manner illustrated inFIGS. 5 and 7.

However, when the main valve member 65 is first forced to its closedcondition against the valve seat 71 by the flow 122 of fuel downwardlythrough the drop tube means 21 in the manner previously set forth, theshock load or head of fuel that closes the valve member 65 forces openthe second valve member 132 in opposition to the force of the springmeans 136 in the manner illustrated by the arrow 140 in FIG. 6 so as toflow through the opening means 129 and thereby relieve the relativelylarge amount of the fuel that would be slamming against the valve member65 above the same as the valve member 65 initially closes against thevalve seat 71.

In this manner, the opening 129 can be larger than the flow reducingopening in the prior known arrangement so as to permit a large flow offuel through the opening 129 rather than only a very small restrictedflow as in the prior known arrangements whereby the valve means 64 incombination with the valve means 141 that comprises the opening 129 andvalve member 132 reduces the pressure and resultant shock loading thatwould occur on the main valve member 65 when the same initially closesagainst the valve seat 71.

However, after the initial shock load of fuel 140 has passed through theopening 129 of the closed valve member 65, the force of the spring 136is sufficient to then close the valve member 132 against the valve seat131 even though a head of fuel still is disposed in the drop tube means21 above the poppet valve member 65 and an attempt is being made tocontinue to flow further liquid into the drop tube means 21 by a tankcar or the like as will be apparent hereinafter.

Once the poppet valve means 64 has closed and the other poppet valvemeans 141 has subsequently closed as previously set forth, a poppetvalve means of this invention that is generally indicated by thereference numeral 142 in FIGS. 8-11 is utilized to provide a reducedflow of fuel through the drop tube means 21 into the chamber 30 of thestorage tank means 22 at a controlled rate since the level 102 of liquidin the storage tank 22 has closed the main valve means 64 while there isstill a portion of the chamber 30 yet to be filled with fuel as theliquid level 102 is approximately 8 inches from the top of the chamber30 when the float means 43 causes the main valve means 64 to close aspreviously set forth.

However, when the poppet valve means 142 is in the open positionthereof, the same is adapted to only bleed fuel therethrough, at a muchreduced rate, such as about two gallons per minute, into the storagetank 22 in a bypassing manner around the main valve seat 71 as will beapparent hereinafter so that it will take several hours between the timethe main poppet valve means 64 closes and the poppet valve means 142would permit the tank means 22 to fill to a new level thereof where thefloat means 43 will cause closing of the poppet valve means 142 in amanner hereinafter set forth.

Thus, it can be seen that the operator, who is filling the storage tankmeans 22, such as from a hose from a gasoline storage truck wherein thehose is interconnected to the upper end means 28 of the inlet riser pipemeans 24 in a conventional manner to flow therein under gravity from thetruck, will know that the storage tank means 22 is getting close tobeing completely filled as the flow rate now going into the storage tank22 after the main valve means 64 is closed has been reduced considerablyeven though the third valve means 142 is open and continuing to feedfuel into the storage tank 22 but at a greatly reduced rate, such asonly approximately two gallons per minute, as previously set forth.Thus, the operator then can close off the flow of fuel to the riser pipemeans 24 and the remaining fuel in the riser pipe means 24 will drainthrough the open valve means 142 to further fill the storage tank means22 long before the float means 43 would cause closing of the poppetvalve means 142.

However, should the operator of the truck leave the gasoline fillingoperation for some reason, such as by becoming sick or even having aheart attack, the overfill valve 21 of this invention will automaticallyclose the main valve means 64 by the float means 43 rising to the level123 as illustrated in FIG. 4 and then permit a small continuous fillingoperation through the poppet valve means 142 until the float means 43reaches approximately the position illustrated by the dash-dotted lines143 in FIG. 4 which completely stops any further filling of fuel intothe storage tank 22 so that fuel will not be able to pass out of thestorage tank 22 through the separate conventional vent line thereof aswould be the case if some means were not provided for preventing thecontinuous flow of fuel into the storage tank means 22 once the tankmeans has been completely filled.

The poppet valve means 142 comprises a housing means 144 that isdisposed and secured in a stepped opening 145 passing through the upperflat surface 74 of the upper offset end 45 of the housing 36, such asbeing held in the opening 145 by the bracket means 75 that overlaps thehousing 144 which is disposed against an internal shoulder means 146 asillustrated. The housing 144 has an opening 147 passing therethrough anddefining a frusto-conical valve seat 148 that is adapted to be openedand closed by a frusto-conical valve member 149 that is movable in thehousing 144 and has a stem 150 extending from the valve member 149through the valve seat 148 and being provided with a rounded end 151which is adapted to engage against a cam surface 152 on the cam member99 that is rotatably mounted on the shaft means 68 as previously setforth. The stem 150 of the poppet valve member 149 has a spring retainer153 thereon that is held from moving off of the stem 150 by aconventional C-shaped retaining ring 153' and is urged against theretaining means 153 by a compression spring 154 which has one end 155bearing against the spring retainer 153 and the other end 156 thereofbearing against an end 144' of the housing means 144 whereby the springmeans 154 always tends to move the valve member 149 in a downwarddirection in the drawings so as to close the valve member 149 againstthe valve seat 148. However, the cam surface 152 of the cam member 99 isso constructed and arranged that a high surface portion 157 thereofmaintains the valve member 149 in an open condition relative to thevalve seat 148 until a depressed area 158 of the cam surface 152 isaligned with the end 151 of the stem 150 in the manner illustrated inFIG. 11 to permit the compression spring 154 to close the valve member149 against the valve seat 148 and thereby close the poppet valve means142.

The closing of the poppet valve means 142 only takes place when thefloat means 43 has risen to the position 143 illustrated in FIG. 4 asthe float means 43 causes rotation of the cam member 99 as the floatmeans 43 moves in a counterclockwise direction in FIG. 4 and therebyrotates the cam member 99 in a counterclockwise direction in FIGS. 9-11so that when the float means 43 is in the position 143 of FIG. 4, thelow point 158 of the cam surface 152 is aligned with the valve stem 150to permit the compression spring 154 to close the poppet valve member149 against the valve seat 148 and maintain the same in such closedposition as the float means 43 is now in the position 143 of FIG. 4because the liquid level in the storage tank 22 has risen to such aposition.

In this manner, all flow of fuel to the chamber 30 of the storage tankmeans 22 is completely terminated by the overfill valve 21 of thisinvention.

The float means 43 is normally urged to the normal position illustratedby full lines in FIG. 4 by a spring 160 that has a coiled body portion161 disposed on the shaft means 68 and one opposed end 162 thereofbearing against the wall 44 of the depressed area 41 and the otheropposed end 163 thereof bearing against one of the ears 93 of the floatmeans 43.

In this manner, the float means 43 can be moved into the depressed area41 to permit the overfill valve 21 to be inserted down through the riserpipe means 24 in the manner illustrated in FIG. 2 where the float means43 is tending to be pivotally moved outwardly by the spring 160 so thatthe outer face 88 thereof bears against the inside surface 164 of theriser pipe means 24 as illustrated in FIG. 2 and still permit the droptube means 21 of this invention to be inserted down through the riserpipe means 24 until the upper flange 50 of the section 37 abuts againstthe shoulder means 54 whereupon the end member 28 is adapted then to bethreaded onto the upper end of the riser pipe means 24 to complete thesame as previously set forth. At the time that the flange 50 of theupper section 37 aligns with the upper end 54 of the riser pipe means24, the housing 36 of the tubular member 21 is now within the storagechamber 30 and below the inlet opening 31 thereof so that the force ofthe spring 160 moves the float means 43 to its out position asillustrated by full lines in FIG. 4 wherein the float means 43 remainsin such position until the liquid level reaches the same and begins tofloat the float means 43 upwardly as previously set forth.

Thus, it can be seen that it is a relatively simple method of thisinvention to assemble the drop tube 20 of this invention in the storagetank means 22 as the unique shape of the float means 43 permits the sameto be contained in the depressed area 41 and, thus, within the outlineof the tubular member 21 as the drop tube 20 is being inserted throughthe riser pipe means 24. Also, the streamlined shape of the ends 47 and48 of the float means 43 prevents any hang up of the float means 43during such assembling operation.

In order to normally hold the main-poppet valve member 65 in the fullopen position as illustrated in FIG. 5, another spring means 165 isprovided and has a coiled body portion 166 disposed on a tubularextension 167 (see FIG. 8) of the end 104 of the link 103 while oneopposed end 168 thereof bears against the casing 36 and the otheropposed end 169 thereof bears against a side 170 of the link 103 so thatthe stored energy in the spring means 165 tends to rotate the link 103in a clockwise direction on the shaft means 68 when viewing the shaftmeans 68 in FIG. 5 and 6. In this manner, the force of the spring 165tends to maintain the end 115 of the link 107 against the stop 117 andthus in an over center locked position as previously set forth.

The lower section 38 forms a lower extension, of the overfill valve 21'and; also comprises a metallic tubular member having a substantiallycylindrical configuration that is provided with a substantially uniformcircular cross-sectional configuration throughout the length thereoffrom the upper end 171 thereof to the lower end 172 thereof which isdisposed at an angle to define the outlet end 35 as previously setforth, the upper end 171 being adapted to be telescoped over an inwardlystepped end portion 173 of the housing 36 and be fastened thereto byfastening means 174 into suitable slots 175 of the housing 36. However,the upper end 171 of the extension 38 need not be secured to the lowerend 173 of the housing 36 with as great a securement arrangement as theend 56 of the upper extension 37 is secured to the upper end of thehousing 36 as the lower extension 38 is not subjected to the poundingthat the upper extension 37 is subjected to during the closing of thevalve means 64 as previously set forth.

Therefore, it can be seen that the overfill valve 21' of this inventioncan be formed of the various parts of this invention and be assembledtogether by the method of this invention to provide a drop tube 20 whichis adapted to operate in a manner now to be described.

Once the drop tube 20 has been installed in its operative position; inthe riser pipe means 24 so that the housing 36 thereof is in the storagecompartment 30 as previously set forth with the float means 43 beingheld outwardly by the spring means 160 in the full line position of FIG.4, the main valve means 65 is being held in its full open position underthe deflector means 119 by the spring means 165. Thus, when an operatordesires to fill the storage tank 22 by removing the cover means 27 andattaching a dispensing hose from the gasoline truck to the upper endmeans 28 of the riser pipe means 24 in a conventional manner, fuel canbe directed downwardly through the upper extension 37 of the tubularmember 21 and through the open valve means 64 to pass out of the end 35of the lower extension 38 to begin to fill the chamber 30 of the storagetank means 22 as previously set forth, the flow of fuel down through thetubular member 21 being deflected away from the valve member 65 by thedeflector means 119 as previously set forth.

However, when the level 102 of fuel in the chamber 30 of the storagetank means 22 causes the float means 43 to begin to float and therebymove upwardly from the full line position illustrated in FIG. 4 to thephantom line position 123, such movement of the float means 43 causesboth the drive means 98 and the cam means 99 to rotate in opening means69. However, only the drive part 124 of the drive means 98 engagesagainst the surface 125 of the link 103 to cause the link 103 to beginto rotate in a counter clockwise direction in FIGS. 5 and 6 and move thevalve member 65 outwardly into the stream 122 of fuel which catchesagainst the forward end 127 of the valve member 65 and rapidly moves thesame downwardly against the valve seat 71 to close the valve seat 71.This initial shock load or head of fuel now being held above the closedvalve member 65 forces through the opening 129 of the valve member 65 bymoving the valve member 132 away from the underside 130 of the valvemember 65 in opposition to the force of the spring means 136 so as tomomentarily relieve the force of the fuel in the drop tube 20 that wouldbe acting downwardly on the closed valve member 65. Once this initialhead of fuel passes through the opening means 129 to the chamber 30 ofthe storage tank means 22, the valve member 132 is urged by the springmeans 136 back to its closed position as illustrated by phantom lines inFIG. 6 so that the only flow of fuel now into the storage chamber 30 ofthe storage tank means 22 is through the open poppet valve means 142which is still being held in the open position by the high area 157 ofthe cam surface 152. However, should the flow of fuel continue to flowthrough the open valve means 142 for several hours after the valve means64 has been closed in the manner previously set forth, the level of fuelin the chamber 30 of the storage tank means 22 causes the float means 43to move to the position illustrated by the phantom lines 143 in FIG. 4and thereby rotate the cam member 99 so that the low portion 158 thereofis now aligned with the valve stem 150 so that the compression spring154 can close the poppet valve member 149 against the poppet valve seat148 and terminate any further flow of fuel into the storage tank means22.

In this manner, a complete overfilling of the storage tank means 22 isprevented by the overfill valve construction 21' of this invention sothat fuel cannot be continuously pumped into the chamber 30 thereof andpass out through the vent pipe thereof to spill onto the ground, etc.

Of course, once a filling operation has been terminated and as the levelof the fuel in the storage tank 22 begins to fall because of the fuelbeing pumped out of the chamber thereof by the normal operation of thefilling station or the like, the float means 43 begins to movedownwardly and such downward movement of the float means 43 first causesthe poppet valve member 149 to be moved to an open position through thecam 99 in opposition to the force of the compression spring 154 and thencauses the main valve member 65 to be moved to its full open position asthe drive part 124 of the drive means 98 has been moved sufficientlyaway from its tripping position so that the force of the spring 165 canreturn the link means 70 to the position of FIG. 5 once the head of fuelabove the valve means 65 has been relieved by the now open poppet valvemeans 142 and the level in the chamber 30 has fallen sufficiently topermit the float means 43 to move to the full line position illustratedin FIG. 4. Even though the fuel level now falls below the position thatpermits the float means 43 to be in the full line position illustratedin FIG. 4, the float means 43 will not follow the falling liquid levelwithin the chamber 30 of the storage tank means 22 as the spring means160 maintains the float means 43 in the full line position illustratedin FIG. 4 so that the overfill valve 21' of this invention can againperform its function in preventing an overfill condition during asubsequent filling operation in the manner previously described.

Therefore, it can be seen that this invention provides a new overfillvalve construction having many unique features that operate in themanner previously set forth.

While the forms and methods of this invention now preferred have beenillustrated and described as required by the Patent Statute, it is to beunderstood that other forms can be utilized and still fall within thescope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An overfill valve adapted for incorporation in adrop tube employed in the discharge of liquid fuel, or the like, into astorage tank having an inlet riser pipe, said overfill valvecomprising,a tubular housing insertable through the riser pipe anddefining a passage through which fuel may be discharged into the tank,said housing having an upper end adapted for attachment to an uppertubular extension which is engageable with the riser pipe to positionthe housing in an operative position in the upper portion of the storagetank, and a lower end adapted for attachment to a lower tubularextension which terminates in the bottom portion of the storage tank,said overfill valve further comprising a valve member disposed withinsaid housing and movable between an open position and a closed position,a float mounted on the housing and projecting laterally therefrom whenthe housing is in its operative position, and means connecting saidvalve member and float, said connecting means, in the operative positionof the housing, displacing the valve member towards its closed positionin response to upward movement of the float to a position reflecting adesired height for fuel in the tank, characterized in that said housinghas a depression, and said float is displaceable to an insertionposition in which the float is disposed in said depression and thehousing is insertable through the riser pipe.
 2. An overfill valve as inclaim 1 adapted for use in discharging fuel into a tank having a riserpipe which has a circular cross section with a given inner diameter,andthe housing has a generally circular, vertical outline having adiameter less than the inner diameter of the riser pipe, and saiddepression is spaced inwardly from said vertical outline.
 3. An overfillvalve as in claim 2 whereinsaid depression is formed by an integral wallportion of said housing.
 4. An overfill valve as in claim 3 whereinthedepression is defined by vertically spaced upper and lower shoulders andthe wall portion of the housing which is disposed on a chord of saidcircular, vertical outline.
 5. An overfill valve as in claim 4whereinthe float is elongated and has a cross section in the form of asegment generated by a radius approximating the radius of the circularoutline of the housing and a thickness approximating the distance thedepression is spaced inwardly from said vertical outline.
 6. An overfillvalve as in claim 1 whereinthe depression is defined by verticallyspaced upper and lower shoulders, and the connecting means include meanspivotally mounting one end of the float on said housing about ahorizontal axis above the upper depression shoulder, and said one end ofthe float is adjacent the upper depression shoulder and the other end ofthe float is adjacent the lower depression shoulder when the float is inits insertion position.
 7. An overfill valve as in claim 6 furtherincludingmeans for resiliently urging the float to its laterallyprojecting position.
 8. An overfill valve as in claim 6 whereinthe axisfor pivotally mounting the float is spaced inwardly from the verticaloutline of the housing and further includes angled deflector means,engagable with the riser pipe upon removal of the valve from the tank,for displacing the float towards its insertion position.
 9. An overfillvalve adapted for incorporation in a drop tube employed in the dischargeof liquid fuel, or the like, into a storage tank having an inlet riserpipe, said overfill valve comprising,a tubular housing insertablethrough the riser pipe and defining a passage through which fuel may bedischarged into the tank, said housing having an upper end adapted forattachment to an upper tubular extension which is engageable with theriser pipe to position the housing in an operative position in the upperportion of the storage tank, and a lower end adapted for attachment to alower tubular extension which terminates in the bottom portion of thestorage tank, said overfill valve further comprising a valve memberdisposed within said housing and movable between an open position and aclosed position, approximating the distance the depression is spacedinwardly from said vertical outline, one end of the float is pivotallymounted on said housing about an axis above the upper shoulder of thedepression, beneath and parallel to the axis for the valve member, saidfloat being displaceable to an insertion position in which the float isdisposed in said depression and the housing is insertable through theriser pipe.
 10. An overfill valve as in claim 9 whereinthe means forlimiting pressure comprise a relatively large opening through said valvemember and resilient valve means, mounted on said valve member, normallyclosing said opening, said resilient valve means being opened by thevelocity force of fuel being discharged into the tank and closing whenthe velocity force is reduced below a given level.
 11. An overfill valveas in claim 10 whereinthe resilient valve means closes said opening whenthe velocity of fuel discharged into the tank is reduced below a givenlevel, and further comprises means for bleeding fuel in the housing,above said valve member, when the valve member is in its closedposition.
 12. An overfill valve as in claim 11 further comprisingmeansfor closing said means for bleeding in response to movement of the floatmeans to a position reflecting that the level of fuel in the tank is ata predetermined height above said desired height.
 13. An overfill valveas in claim 9 adapted for use in discharging fuel into a tank having ariser pipe which has a circular cross section with a given innerdiameter, and whereinthe housing has a circular, vertical outline havinga diameter less than the inner diameter of the riser pipe, the housinghas a planar valve seat, and the valve member is pivotally mounted onsaid housing and is spaced from the valve seat in its open position andengaged with said seat in its closed position.
 14. An overfill valve asin claim 13 whereinthe valve member is pivotally mounted on a horizontalaxis disposed to one side of the valve seat and is disposed in anupright position with one, upper end contiguous with an inner wallportion of the housing, outwardly of the pivot axis, when in its openposition, whereby the force of fuel discharged into said tank willmaintain the valve member in its open position, and further wherein thevalve member is freely pivotal from said open position to said closedposition, when the float means is in a position reflecting the desiredheight of fuel in the tank and the connecting means comprise means forswinging the valve member to a position in which its upper end ispositioned on the other side of the its pivot axis, whereby the force offuel discharged into the tank swings the valve member to its closedposition.
 15. An overfill valve as in claim 14 whereinthe valve seat isangled upwardly, relative to the pivot axis for the valve member, on anangle of approximately 45 deg.
 16. An overfill valve as in claim 15whereinthe means for limiting pressure comprise a relatively largeopening through said valve member and resilient valve means, mounted onsaid valve member, normally closing said opening, said resilient valvemeans being opened by the velocity force of fuel being discharged intothe tank and closing when the velocity force is reduced below a givenlevel.
 17. An overfill valve as in claim 16 further comprising a bleedpassage extends through said housing from the upstream side of the valveseat to the downstream side thereof,normally open valve means forclosing said bleed passage, and means, responsive to movement of saidfloat means, for closing said the bleed passage valve in response tomovement of the float to a position reflecting that the level of fuel inthe tank is at a predetermined height above said desired height.
 18. Anoverfill valve as in claim 17 whereinthe housing has a depression formedtherein beneath said valve seat, said depression being defined byvertically spaced shoulders and a wall portion of the housing which isdisposed on a chord of said circular, vertical outline, the float meanscomprise a float projecting laterally from the housing, when the housingis in its operative position, and the float is elongated and has a crosssection in the form of a segment generated by a radius approximating theradius of the circular outline of the housing and a thicknessapproximating the distance the depression is spaced inwardly from saidvertical outline, one end of the float is pivotally mounted on saidhousing about an axis above the upper shoulder of the depression,beneath and parallel to the axis for the valve member, said float beingdisplaceable to an insertion position in which the float is disposed insaid depression and the housing is insertable through the riser pipe.19. An overfill valve as in claim 18 whereinthe connecting means includea link having one end pivotally connected to said valve member, a leverpivotal about the axis for the float and pivotally connected to theopposite end of said link, and abutment means also pivotal relative tothe float axis, which move with said float and engage said lever toswing it to a position in which the one end of valve member is swunginwardly of the pivot axis therefor.
 20. An overfill valve as in claim19 whereinthe bleed passage valve means and the response means thereforcomprise a poppet valve disposed above the float axis; a cam mounted onthe float axis and rotatable with said float, said poppet valve having aspring loaded stem riding on said cam, said cam having a contour whichmaintains the poppet valve stem in an open position until the float isfloat is raised to a position refecting the predetermined level abovethe desired level of fuel in the tank whereat the cam has a depressionpermitting the bleed passage valve to close.
 21. An overfill valveadapted for incorporation in a drop tube employed in the discharge ofliquid fuel, or the like, into a storage tank having an inlet riserpipe, said overfill valve comprising,a tubular housing insertablethrough the riser pipe and defining a passage through which fuel may bedischarged into the tank, said housing having an upper end adapted forattachment to an upper tubular extension which is engageable with theriser pipe to position the housing in an operative position in the upperportion of the storage tank, and a lower end adapted for attachment to alower tubular extension which terminates in the bottom portion of thestorage tank, said overfill valve further comprising a valve memberdisposed within said housing and movable between an open position and aclosed position, float means mounted on the housing and responsive tothe level of fuel in the tank, when the housing is in its operativeposition, and means connecting said valve member and float means, saidconnecting means, in the operative position of the housing, displacingthe valve member towards its closed postion in response to upwardmovement of the float means to a position reflecting a desired heightfor fuel in the tank, the improvement which comprises means for reducingthe rate of flow of fuel discharged into the tank through the housing inresponse to movement of the float means to a position reflecting saiddesired height, and means for preventing further discharge of fuel intosaid tank, through said housing, in response to movement of the floatmeans to a level reflecting a predetermined level above said desiredlevel.
 22. An overfill valve adapted for incorporation in a drop tubeemployed in the discharge of liquid fuel, or the like, into a storagetank having an inlet riser pipe, said overfill valve comprising,atubular housing insertable through the riser pipe and defining a passagethrough which fuel may be discharged into the tank, said housing havingan upper end adapted for attachment to an upper tubular extension whichis engageable with the riser pipe to position the housing in anoperative position in the upper portion of the storage tank, and a lowerend adapted for attachment to a lower tubular extension which terminatesin the bottom portion of the storage tank, said overfill valve furthercomprising a valve member disposed within said housing and movablebetween an open position and a closed position, float means mounted onthe housing and responsive to the level of fuel in the tank when thehousing is in its operative position, means connecting said valve memberand float means, said connecting means, in the operative position of thehousing, displacing the valve member towards its closed position inresponse to upward movement of the float means to a position reflectinga desired height for fuel in the tank, and a bleed passage, formed insaid housing for draining fuel from above the valve member when thevalve member is in its closed position, characterized by valve means,operative in response to movement of the float means to a positionreflecting that the level of fuel in the tank is at a predeterminedheight above said desired level, for blocking flow of fuel through saidbleed passage.
 23. An overfill valve as in claim 22 whereinthe valvemeans comprise a poppet valve, the float means comprise a floatprojecing laterally from the housing, when the housing is in itsoperative position, and a horizontal shaft is mounted on the housing andthe float is mounted thereon, the bleed passage and poppet valve arevertically disposed in alignment with said shaft, and further comprisinga cam mounted on said shaft for rotation with said float, resilientmeans urging the poppet valve stem into engagement with said cam, saidcam having a contour maintaining the poppet valve in an open positionuntil the float is raised to a position reflecting a level of fuel inthe tank at a predetermined distance above said desired height.
 24. Anoverfill valve adapted for incorporation in a drop tube employed in thedischarge of liquid fuel, or the like, into a storage tank having aninlet riser pipe, said overfill valve comprising,a tubular housinginsertable through the riser pipe and defining a passage through whichfuel may be discharged into the tank, said housing having an upper endadapted for attachment to an upper tubular extension which in engageablewith the riser pipe to position the housing in an operative position inthe upper portion of the storage tank, and a lower end adapted forattachment to a lower tubular extension which terminates in the bottomportion of the storage tank, said overfill valve further comprising avalve seat peripheral of the inner wall of said housing, a valve memberdisposed within said housing and pivotally mounted to the housing formovement between an open position and a closed position, float meansmounted on the housing and responsive to the level of fuel in the tank,when the housing is in its operative position, and means connecting saidvalve member and float means, said connecting means, in the operativeposition of the housing, displacing the valve member towards its closedposition in response to upward movement of the float means to a positionreflecting a desired height for fuel in the tank, characterized in thatthe valve member has a planar sealing surface and the valve seat isdisposed on an angle relative to the axis of the housing.
 25. Anoverfill valve as in claim 24 wherinthe valve seat is disposed on anangle of approximately 45 deg. relative to the axis of the housing. 26.An overfill valve as in claim 25 adapted for use in discharging fuelinto a tank having a riser pipe which has a circular cross section witha given inner diameter, andthe housing has a circular, vertical outlinehaving a diameter less than the inner diameter of the riser pipe, andwherein the portion of the housing above the valve seat has a circularinner diameter and the valve seat is elliptical, the valve member ispivotally mounted on a horizontal axis disposed to one side of the valveseat and is disposed in an upright position with one, upper endcontiguous with an inner wall portion of the housing, when in its openposition, and the upper end of the valve member is formed on a curvatureapproximating the curvature of the valve seat.
 27. An overfill valve asin claim 26 whereinthe valve member is angled outwardly from its pivotaxis in its open position.
 28. An overfill valve as in claim 27 furtherincludingmeans for adjusting the angular position of the valve member inits open position so that assurance can be had that it is angledoutwardly to a desired extent.
 29. An overfill valve adapted forincorporation in a drop tube employed in the discharge of liquid fuel,or the like, into a storage tank having an inlet riser pipe, saidoverfill valve comprising,a tubular housing insertable through the riserpipe and defining a passage through which fuel may be discharged intothe tank, said housing having an upper end adapted for attachment to anupper tubular extension which is engageable with the riser pipe toposition the housing in an operative position in the upper portion ofthe storage tank, and a lower end adapted for attachment to a lowertubular extension which terminates in the bottom portion of the storagetank, said overfill valve further comprising a valve seat peripheral ofthe inner wall of said housing, a valve member disposed within saidhousing and pivotally mounted on the housing for movement between anopen position and a closed position, float means mounted on the housingand responsive to the level of fuel in the tank, when the housing is inits operative position, and means connecting said valve member and floatmeans, said connecting means, in the operative position of the housing,displacing the valve member towards its closed position in response toupward movement of the float means to a position reflecting a desiredheight for fuel in the tank, characterized in that means are disposed toone side of said valve seat for pivotally mounting said valve member onsaid housing with the valve member being generally upright in its openposition, said connecting means pivot the valve member toward the saidvalve seat so that the force of fuel being discharged through thehousing displaces the valve member to its closed position, furthercharacterized by the float means movement being non-responsive tomovement of the valve member towards its closed position.
 30. Anoverfill valve as in claim 29 whereinthe float means comprise a floatmounted on the housing and projecting laterally therefrom when thehousing is in its operative position, and the means connecting saidvalve member and float means comprise a connection with said float,characterized by means pivotally mounting said float on said housingsaid pivotally mounting means including a mounting portion disposedwithin the vertical outline of said housing, resilient means, disposedwithin the outline of said housing, for urging said valve member towardits open position, said connecting means including linkage means andabutment means operatively associated with said mounting portion of thefloat mounting means, further characterized by movement of the valvemember towards its closed position disengaging the abutment means, ofthe connecting means, whereby the float movement is non-responsive tomovement of the valve member towards its closed position.
 31. Anoverfill valve as in claim 30 further comprisingmeans for limitingpressure on said valve member when it is moved to its closed position,said means comprising a relatively large opening through said valvemember and resilient valve means, mounted on said valve member, normallyclosing said opening, said resilient valve means being opened by thevelocity force of fuel being discharged into the tank and closing whenthe velocity force is reduced below a given level.
 32. An overfill valveas in claim 31 whereina third shaft is mounted on said valve member inparallel relation to the first and second shafts, the upper end of saidlink is mounted on said third shaft, the valve means for said opening isdisposed on the under side of said valve member when it is in its closedposition and comprises a flapper valve pivotally mounted on said thirdshaft and torsion spring coiled about said shaft and urging the flappervalve into engagement with the under surface of the valve member to sealthe opening therein.
 33. An overfill valve as in claim 30 whereinthemeans for pivotally mounting the valve member comprises a firsthorizontally disposed shaft mounted on said housing interiorly thereofand to one side of the valve seat, the valve member being pivotallymounted on said first shaft and is disposed in an upright position withone, upper end contiguous with an inner wall portion of the housing,when in its open position, and the means for pivotally mounting thefloat comprises a second shaft, disposed beneath the first shaft andparallel thereto, mounted on said housing, said float being pivotallymounted on said second shaft, said linkage means comprise a leverpivotally mounted on said second shaft, and a link pivotally connected,at its opposite ends, respectively, to the valve member and the lever,and the abutment means are pivotal on said shaft and rotatable inresponse to movement of the float, and engagable with the lever todisplace it in a direction causing the valve member to move towards itsclosed position when the float is raised to a position reflecting thedesired level of fuel in the tank.
 34. An overfill valve as in claim 33further comprisingmeans for bleeding fuel in the housing, above saidvalve member, when the valve member is in its closed position, saidbleeding means comprising a vertical passage formed in said housing inalignment with said second shaft, and extending from the upstream sideof said valve seat to the downstream side thereof, a poppet valvemounted in said bleed passage and having a stem extending downwardlytherefrom, a cam pivotally mounted on said second shaft and movable inresponse to movement of said float, resilient means urging the poppetvalve stem into engagement with said cam, said cam having a contourmaintaining the poppet valve in an open position until the float israised to a position reflecting a level of fuel in the tank at apredetermined distance above said desired height.
 35. An overfill valveas in claim 33 whereinthe resilient means for urging said valve membertoward its open position comprise a torsion spring coiled about saidsecond shaft and acting on said lever in a direction yieldingly urgingsaid valve member to its open position.
 36. An overfill valve as inclaim 33 further comprisinga third shaft mounted on said valve member inparallel relation to said first and second shafts, and linkage meansconnecting said first and third shafts, and further wherein the linkconnecting said lever and valve member is connected to said third shaft.37. An overfill valve as in claim 29further characterized in that saidconnecting means are positively connected to valve member and areprovided with a lost motion connection with said float means, said lostmotion connection permitting movement of the connecting means relativeto the float means, as the connecting means moves with the valve memberand the float means remains at the level of the liquid in the tank. 38.A drop tube adapted for use in the discharge of liquid fuel, or thelike, at a relatively high rate, into a storage tank of the type havingan inlet riser pipe, the drop tube having an overfill valve for limitingthe discharge of fuel into the storage tank,said drop tube comprising atubular member insertable through the riser pipe to an operativeposition of the drop tube and defining a passage through which fuel isdischarged into the tank, and said overfill valve comprising a valvemember disposed within said tubular member and movable between an openposition and a closed position, float means mounted on the tubularmember and responsive to the level of fuel in the tank, when the droptube is in its operative position, and means connecting said valve andfloat means, said connecting means, in the operative position of thedrop tube, displacing the valve member towards its closed position inresponse to upward movement of the float means to a position reflectinga desired height for fuel in the tank, the improvement which comprisesmeans, operative when the valve member is moved to its closed position,for limiting fuel pressure on said valve member which is the result ofthe flow force of fuel being discharged into the tank.
 39. A drop tubeadapted for use in the discharge of liquid fuel, or the like, at arelatively high rate, into a storage tank of the type having an inletriser pipe, the drop tube having an overfill valve for limiting thedischarge of fuel into the storage tank,said drop tube comprising atubular member insertable through the riser pipe to an operativeposition of the drop tube and defining a passage through which fuel isdischarged into the tank, and said overfill valve comprising a valvemember disposed within said tubular member and movable between an openposition and a closed position, float means mounted on the tubularmember and responsive to the level of fuel in the tank, when the droptube is in its operative position, and means connecting said valve andfloat means, said connecting means, in the operative position of thedrop tube, displacing the valve member towards its closed position inresponse to upward movement of the float means to a position reflectinga desired height for fuel in the tank, the improvement which comprisesmeans for reducing the rate of flow of fuel discharged into the tankthrough the drop tube in response to movement of the float to a positionreflecting said desired height, and means for preventing furtherdischarge of fuel into said tank, through said drop tube, in response tomovement of the float means to a level reflecting a predetermined levelabove said desired level.
 40. A drop tube adapted for use in thedischarge of liquid fuel, or the like, into a storage tank of the typehaving an inlet riser pipe, the drop tube having an overfill valve forlimiting the discharge of fuel into the storage tank,said drop tubecomprising a tubular member insertable through the riser pipe to anoperative position of the drop tube and defining a passage through whichfuel is discharged into the tank, and said overfill valve comprising avalve member disposed within said tubular member and movable between anopen position and a closed position, float means mounted on the tubularmember and responsive to the level of fuel in the tank, when the droptube is in its operative position, means connecting said valve and floatmeans, said connecting means, in the operative position of the droptube, displacing the valve member towards its closed position inresponse to upward movement of the float means to a position reflectinga desired height for fuel in the tank, and a bleed passage for drainingfuel from above the valve member when the valve member is in its closedposition, characterized by valve means, operative in response tomovement of the float means to a position reflecting that the level offuel in the tank is at a predetermined height above said desired level,for blocking flow of fuel through said bleed passage.
 41. A drop tubeadapted for use in the discharge of liquid fuel, or the like, into astorage tank of the type having an inlet riser pipe having a circularcross section, said drop tube having an overfill valve for limiting thedischarge of fuel into the storage tank,said drop tube comprising atubular member having a circular, vertical outline having a diameterless than the inner diameter of the riser pipe to thereby facilitate itsinsertion through the riser pipe to an operative position of the droptube, and said overfill valve comprising a valve seat peripheral of theinner wall of said tubular member, a valve member disposed within saidtubular member and pivotally mounted on the tubular member for movementbetween an open position and a closed position, float means mounted onthe tubular member and responsive to the level of fuel in the tank, whenthe drop tube is in its operative position, and means connecting saidvalve and float means, said connecting means, in the operative positionof the drop tube, displacing the valve member towards its closedposition in response to upward movement of the float means to a positionreflecting a desired height for fuel in the tank, characterized in thatthe drop tube comprises a tubular housing, means are disposed to oneside of said valve seat for pivotally mounting said valve member on saidhousing with the valve member being generally upright in its openposition, further characterized by the float means movement beingnon-responsive to movement of the valve member towards its closedposition.